Meet Rachel Eklund

﻿A+ Preschool owner and lead teacher﻿

My name is Rachel Eklund. I am the proud mom of two beautiful children. I have both a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, with an ESL certification. For 8 years I was an elementary school teacher, winning Teacher of the Year in my 7th year.

Teaching has always been my passion. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to experience teaching wide age ranges of children in a variety of settings. As an elementary school teacher I taught grades kindergarten through third. The never ending enthusiasm my kindergartners brought to school with them daily absolutely won my heart. Kindergarten was my favorite grade to teach. After the birth of my daughter I opened a family child care center in my home. I loved becoming close with the families of the children in my care daily.

This particular path in my career initially piqued my interest in helping young children prepare for kindergarten. While teaching I noticed a large gap in knowledge among students even at the beginning of their kindergarten school year. As the year progressed the gap between students, known as the achievement gap, became larger. From experience teaching older grades I knew this gap would never close for most students. They started kindergarten "behind" and would never catch up. I began A+ Preschool as a way to prepare children properly before kindergarten. Helping young children start elementary school with confidence and knowledge so they will begin their educational career ahead.

In addition to owning and teaching at A+ Preschool, I was an instructor in the Early Childhood Education Department at Central Piedmont Community College for five years.

I absolutely love being at the preschool daily. I love and appreciate our A+ families, and I am enormously proud of the amazing school we have built. I look forward to working with you and your child!